New CloudPhysics Service Pinpoints Problems In VMware Environments

CloudPhysics, a startup founded by former VMware employees, launched a new SaaS offering Tuesday that pinpoints issues in VMware environments at an early stage, before they can morph into full-blown problems.

Server virtualization has obviously helped organizations cut hardware spending, but configuring the technology can be tricky for administrators. Some VMware customers are wasting capacity by not virtualizing enough, while others have gone too far and over-provisioned, opening the door to system failures.

CloudPhysics says it's taking a page from the Google playbook, and by that, it means it's taming a mountain of data to do its bidding.

By analyzing some 80 billion pieces of anonymized operational data gathered from its worldwide customer base every day, CloudPhysics can identify effective configurations of virtual server, storage and networking resources, John Blumenthal, CEO and one of four CloudPhysics co-founders, said in an interview.

The new service can also use the data to identify potentially problematic configurations, Blumenthal said.

"Many problems in the data center can be traced to human error. The intelligence we deliver can avoid these errors and let admins run their VMware environments like a Google data center," Blumenthal told CRN.

CloudPhysics is pitching itself as a platform by getting users to build "Cards," or apps that can identify IT operational problems and suggest ways of dealing with them. CloudPhysics' SaaS offering includes more than 20 cards the startup built itself, and on Tuesday, the company launched its Card Store, along with a tool that lets users build their own cards.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company announced Tuesday it closed a $10 million Series B funding round, led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which brings CloudPhysics' total funding to date to $12.5 million. Diane Greene and Mendel Rosenblum, who co-founded VMware and are now angel investors, have also taken a stake in CloudPhysics.